Arkham Horror: Neighborhoods For Nosy Fellows

The Investigators often don’t confront the Ancient One directly, instead fighting agents of the Mythos by stopping rituals, slaying monsters, and exposing illicit cult activities. Combat will still be a big deal (as it is in the basic game), but so would recovering and deciphering ancient texts, and both identifying and tailing suspected cultists. The new rules for the game would center around these things.

So, that gives us a basis for the skills the Investigators will be using: Speed and Sneak for navigating the city and tailing cultists (represented by a force in addition to monster tokens on the board), Fight and Endure for engaging and defeating creatures and cultists, and Lore and Will for interrogating leads and reversing rituals. Next, we need to give the characters regular opportunities to exercise them.

There are nine neighborhoods, and we have three approaches to fighting the Mythos. It would probably make sense to divide the neighborhoods among the different approaches, to give players reasonable ways to fight the Mythos. If ever you want to make the game harder for the players … split up the party.

The Downtown, Easttown, and Northside neighborhoods boast Arkham Asylum, the Bank of Arkham, Independence Square, Hibb’s Roadhouse, the Police Station, Velma’s Diner, the Curiosities Shoppe, the Newspaper, and the Train Station. All of these should be great places to scout for information “rogue style.”

Consider that sneaking around and poking your nose into any of these places should give the Investigators opportunities to turn up information. There are the local crazies at the sanitarium, diner, bus/train station, and park, and you can learn about the criminal element at the roadhouse, police station, and newspaper.

The Merchant District, Southside, and Uptown neighborhoods are all good places to carry a heavy stick. While you might find the South Church, the Historical Society, St. Mary’s Hospital, it’s also where you’ll find Ma’s Boarding House, Ye Olde Magick Shoppe, the Woods, the River Docks, the Unnameable, and the Unvisited Isle.

Expect that in any of these places, you’ll face mad doctors with their scary needles and the city’s less desirable elements (your choice of the woods or the docks). Your wits won’t do you as well as a strong arm and a sturdy body. You might not be able to fight or even comprehend the magic, but you should be able to shrug off its effects.

The Miskatonic University, French Hill, and Rivertown neighborhoods are where you’ll find Arkham’s elite holed up. There’s the Silver Twilight Lodge, the Library, the Administration Building, and the Science Building. The hotspots of magical activity are the Graveyard, the Black Cave, and the Witch House. There’s also the General Store.

You’ll need all the wit and charm you can muster to survive amid the halls of decadent fools who fund occult terrorism, and to navigate the secret societies dedicated to the protection of ancient relics and mysteries. Research the powerful counterspells and charms to combat the Mythos and aid your fellow Investigators.

With the neighborhoods divided up as such, we should reasonably expect encounters to look for preferred skills first, and fall back on the others when the Investigators are unlucky. It’s important to maintain a pretty strict balance, so players can expect to reap certain rewards for taking the proper risks.

Fight and EndureMerchant District (green): the River Docks (money get!), the Unnameable, the Unvisited IsleSouthside (brown): the Historical Society, Ma’s Boarding House (ally get!), the South Church (blessing get!)Uptown (red): St. Mary’s Hospital (health get!), the Woods, Ye Olde Magick Shoppe (magic get!)

Lore and WillFrench Hill (blue): the Silver Twilight Lodge/the Inner Sanctum, the Witch HouseMiskatonic University (yellow): the Administration Building (skill get!), the Library, the Science Building (science get!)Rivertown (violet): the Black Cave, the General Store (item get!), the Graveyard